Minnesota Department of Natural Resources - Enforcement Division, Minnesota
End of Watch: Friday, June 11, 1999
Age: 43
Tour of Duty: 22 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Aircraft accident
Date of Incident: June 11, 1999
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available
Conservation Officer Coyour and a civilian observer were killed in an aircraft accident while conducting an aerial moose telemetry survey over the Red Lake Wildlife Management Area, approximately 22 miles south of Baudette, Minnesota.
The 1977 Piper Cub the he was piloting was found by a Canadian government plane, which responded to his aircraft's emergency transponder beacon. Two Canadian paramedics parachuted down to the marshy area, where the plane was partially submerged, and found the bodies of both Officer Coyour and the observer.
Officer Coyour had flown for the agency as a full time pilot since 1997 and the Minnesota Army National Guard for over 10 years. He had been in law enforcement since 1977 and was survived by his parents, brother, and sister.